This AJN award-winning textbook helps readers understand and critically assess the U.S. health care system and policies. With a focus on the prevalence of disparities in health and health care, the book reviews the historical evolution and organization of our health care system.

Notions such as wellbeing, freedom, and social justice are integral to evaluating social progress and developing policies. One increasingly influential way to think about these concepts is the capability approach, a theoretical framework which was pioneered by the philosopher and economist Amartya Sen in the 1980s.